Here We Go Again: California Attorney General Appealing Foie Gras Ruling

Well, that was short-lived. Just a month after a federal judge overturned California's ban on selling foie gras, the office of California Attorney General Kamala Harris has decided to appeal the ruling. As the San Jose Mercury News reports, state lawyers have filed documents with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals indicating that they plan to appeal the decision at a federal level. However, chefs are still allowed to keep foie gras on their menus until the appeal reaches its conclusion, as the state has not asked the court to put a hold on serving and selling foie gras. (Producing it in the state continues to be illegal.)

Originally enacted in 2004, the foie gras ban went into effect in California in 2010, shuttering the state's only foie gras farm and wiping the dish from menus. Numerous chefs and restaurateurs vociferously fought the ban, even serving foie as a gift from the kitchen or complimentary add-on in order to get around the legality of charging for it. Last month, a judge in the U.S. District Court for California's Central District invalidated the ban, citing the federal Poultry Products Inspections Act. Restaurants in the Bay Area and beyond quickly added foie to their menus, while animal-rights activists protested. There's no word as of yet as to when the case will go to trial.

Update, 4:37 pm: A rep for Harris' office "can confirm a notice of appeal has been filed, but [we have] no further comment."